The original had a paper thin plot (so thick compared to
this one) and took a different approach by leading up to the
sadistic and nefarious events that await a bunch of mouthy
tourists in Hamburg Germany who learn a very important
lesson: never insult the employees of the local S&M club.
Never! In the original we were introduced to three
characters who were a little likeable, including a blind
woman, only to witness their nihilistic demise.

This sequel just goes right in for the kill (literally) from
start to finish. The whole affair plays out as if we the
viewer has purchased a snuff film or real life killumentary,
a front row seat into the torture and killing of victims at
the hands of the La Petite Mort fetish club.
Personally I care more for the original, the gore by German
underground effects/director hero Olaf Ittenbach (Black
Past, Burning Moon, Premutos) is
phenomenal and don't get me wrong Ryan Nicholson is no
slouch either but this sequel has a cheapness to it and
plays out too much like a music video in a dark warehouse.

What made the original more effective were the victims, poor
innocent saps on a vacation including a fella and his blind
girlfriend (who loses her head or the greater part of it
over the whole affair.) You actually feel bad for what is
being dealt out on the victims. In this one all we get is a
little synopsis on the victims who are practically meat. We
are told the torture/kill method, how many euros were paid
to obtain them and their marital status (as if they were
engaged is supposed to make one weep).

In the original we get the build up to the killing,
introduction to victims, the conflict and finally the full
frontal assault of scalping, castration, bludgeoning and
disembowelment in which no detail is spared to the viewer.
We are introduced to Maman, the proprietor of La Petite
Mort and her two assistants Monique (Yvonne WÃ¶lke) and
Dominique (Annika Strauss) who carry out or help carry out
the torture/murders with a hand from different high paying
clients.

Nasty Tapes
has returning director Marcel Waltz using the same location
and club but itâs no longer being ran by Maman, instead
La Petite Mort has a new owner by the name of Monsieur
Matheo Maximo (Mika Metz) and his drop dead beautiful wife
Jade, played by Micaela SchÃ¤fer (who we have the pleasure of
seeing nude frequently), who have devotedly followed in
Maman's footsteps. Dominique and Monique have returned and
host the movie or "experience." Like I said before, there is
practically no plot, just torture scene after torture scene;
some well "executed" and some done not so well.

The gore in Nasty Tapes is frequent and prevalent
throughout. Ryan Nicholson sets up his effects pieces so
there is no looking away, everything is in explicit detail
from nipple torture to slow tongue severing, castration and
a particularly nasty skin grafting sequence. Other torture
scenes are done sloppily such as an electrocution which
drags on too long with too much electronica music, as well
as a particular scene where one of the girls (Monique or
Dominique) smear a bloody Hitler moustache on their face and
gas some victims with familiar, but blurred logos on their
army looking jackets. I am not sure if to offend, provoke or
to just be a sick form of satire really.

The torture scenes are set up with the occasional monologue
by a customer who has purchased a person or people to slowly
torture and kill for their own personal pleasure. We get a
look into why these individuals do it; some because they are
wealthy and bored, some for the pleasure and some are just
fucked up. Clients include everyone from bored rich boys, to
Goth losers, to old rich women, all of whom are enticed by
sick acts such as cannibal sushi, nipple impalement,
soldering iron burnings to good ol' torture roulette.

The new owner of La Petite Mort, Monsieur Matheo
Maximo obviously has gender issues and seems to long to be a
woman himself. The two girls Monique and Dominique treat the
murders and tortures as just a job and see it as nothing
more than that, although in many scenes you clearly see them
enjoying themselves. In the film you can see TV's around the
club displaying scenes from George A. Romero's Night of
the Living Dead and Carnival of Souls in one
instance. I noticed in both films, but in this sequel
particularly, a roll of toilet paper hanging from a chain in
many scenes. Just when I thought I wouldn't see it again
there was that goddamn roll of toilet paper appearing again
and again. You can make a drinking game out of it while
watching how many times you can spot the toilet paper.

In the end, the hunt for pussy is long over. The wealthy and
rich are bored and they want the ultimate thrill to torture
and kill. At the end of the film while Monique and Dominique
are bidding their final adieu, an e-mail appears at the
bottom of the screen to send requests for live feeds or
personal torture preferences, taking voyeurism to a whole
different level. At La Petite Mort they do it all for
your personal viewing pleasure.